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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 4, 2020 18:04:48 GMT
My favorites from the past year: NOVEL: Wylding Hall (Elizabeth Hand) Honorable mention: Experimental Film (Gemma Files) and The Ritual (Adam Nevill) Three outstanding novels I read based on recommendations from Vault regulars. NOVELLA: The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion (Margaret Killjoy) I'm cheating here because I just finished this anarchists-versus-demon deer story last night. COLLECTION: Unholy Relics (M. P. Dare) Starring one of the most memorable goats in horror fiction. ANTHOLOGY: The Sorceress in Stained Glass (Richard Dalby) I finally landed this, one of my horror-collection white whales, and it was worth the wait. YOUNG ADULT NOVEL: The Agony House (Cherie Priest) An interesting blend of formats--part conventional novel, part graphic novel--telling a ghost story in post-Katrina New Orleans. CHILDREN’S NOVEL: Still Water (Chris Priestley) A short but satisfying chiller about a London girl sent to the countryside during the Blitz. GOTHIC NOVEL: The Legend of the Seventh Virgin (Victoria Holt) An anti-romance with a captivating anti-heroine, plus standing stones. SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL: Shadow Captain (Alastair Reynolds) Featuring more of the hard-science space pirates from Revenger. FANTASY NOVEL: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter and European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (Theodora Goss) Parts one and two of a trilogy about a pair of young women: one the daughter of Dr. Jekyll, the other the daughter of Mr. Hyde. The ending of the second book reveals a surprise that fans of a certain fin de siècle British horror writer may particularly appreciate. GRAPHIC NOVEL: Misty Presents: The Jordi Badia Romero Collection. Honorable Mention: Volumes 1-3 of the Rebellion Misty reprints 2019 was the year I fell under the spell of British girls' horror comics. FILM: Midsommar (Ari Aster); Us (Jordan Peele) I can't decide between the former (which evidently polarized audiences, including the Vault) and the latter (which didn't quite match Get Out but had plenty to recommend it). TELEVISION SERIES: Stranger Things (The Duffer Brothers) Season 3 wasn't perfect, but the Scoops Ahoy crew made up for the weak spots. SONG: “Kiss the Go-Goat” (Ghost) This flower-power pop metal song might make a fitting soundtrack for the likes of J. F. Straker's The Goat.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 5, 2020 15:02:58 GMT
One addition to my list:
NONFICTION: The Collected Pulp Horror Volume One (Justin Marriott).
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Post by Swampirella on Jan 5, 2020 17:15:22 GMT
Thanks for your faves, and introducing me to "Kiss the Go-Goat" which I quite like!
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 6, 2020 10:58:30 GMT
My picks of the year:
HORROR NOVELS: John Connolly - A Book of Bones (Charlie Parker #17); Adam Nevill - The Reddening.
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS: Simon Bestwick - And Cannot Come Again; Bernard Taylor - This Is Midnight.
NON-FICTION: Thomas Waters - Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft & Black Magic in Modern Times.
FILMS: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood; Midsommar; Us; Joker.
MUSIC ALBUMS: Tool - Fear Inoculum; The Murder Capital - When I Have Fears; Cut Glass Kings - Cut Glass Kings; Strand Of Oaks - Eraserland.
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Post by johnnymains on Jan 6, 2020 11:57:25 GMT
BEST NOVEL: Two-way tie between WATER SHALL REFUSE THEM by Lucie McKnight Hardy and THE DOLLMAKER by Nina Allan BEST COLLECTION: Two-way tie between Nathan Ballingrud's WOUNDS and Linda Mannheim's THIS WAY TO DEPARTURES BEST ANTHOLOGY: EVIL ROOTS edited by Daisy Butcher BEST NON-FICTION: STARLIGHT MAN by Mike Ashley (re-issue) BEST FILM:Two-way tie between THE PERFECTION and THE FAVOURITE BEST TELEVISION: WATCHMEN with hat tips to RUSSIAN DOLL, MINDHUNTER, BROOKLYN NINE NINE, THE MANDALORIAN and the very dark and perfect final season of VEEP
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Post by Swampirella on Jan 6, 2020 12:08:13 GMT
Since the first half of 2019 now seems very long ago, for what it's worth these are all I can come up with from the second half of last year:
Favorite novel/novella: No One Gets Out Alive - Adam Nevill (new to me) tied with Wylding Hall - Elizabeth Hand
Favorite collection: Best of Robert Bloch (ditto) Favorite anthology: Terror Tales of North West England ed. Paul Finch
Favorite movie: JoJo Rabbit
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Post by Shrink Proof on Jan 6, 2020 14:01:39 GMT
Since the first half of 2019 now seems very long ago... Actually, in my case, the first part of 2020 is hard to remember. With that in mind (or not) I have to say that there wasn't really a lot that stuck in my memory from last year. Everything I read or watched or heard was OK. Not brilliant and most definitely not awful, just, well, alright. So very little really stands out. With the exceptions of:- - My attempt to watch "Peaky Blinders", getting increasingly irritated by its "CGI & Cardboard" soap opera look, and ditching the whole thing after 2 or 3 episodes. - "The New Inn Hall Deception", the latest collection of tales by John Gaskin. Perhaps not as unsettling as some of his previous work but well written and absorbing. The 3-CD collection of Gaskin's "Tales of Twilight & Borderlands", all read by the man himself except one by the late Michael Hordern, is good too. (Re-reading that, when I said that one story was read "by the late Michael Hordern" I meant that he did it when still alive. I hope.)
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Post by andydecker on Jan 6, 2020 19:48:10 GMT
To my dismay I discovered that I didn't buy one new horror novel. The last one was Hutson's Chase in 18, which I still haven't read. I bought a few anthologies, but mostly I read or re-read 30 to 40 years old novels or anthologies, either for the purpose of reviews or because I had the book in question collecting dust for years on the shelves. Most of the Netflix series or movies or the rest on other channels I watched I either didn't finish or thought blah or awful. And I skipped all of the movie blockbusters because I couldn't muster enough interest for them. No Star Wars or The Avengers. Even skipped Game of Thrones. Taped it for a friend, watched a few minutes to check the tape, was baffled how dull and ill-conceived this had become even in this soundbytes and didn't bother any longer. THE GOOD: HORROR NOVELS: Not one. Are these even published professionally any longer? SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS: Reggie Oliver The Ballet of Dr. Caligary. Only as an Ebook, but still havn't read it. HORROR STORY ANTHOLOGY: Pan Book of Horror Stories 10.NON-FICTION: S.M. Guariento Light into Ink. A true labour of love. FILMS: Livid, Bloody Terror – The Shocking Cinema of Norman Warren, The Devil's Nightmare – Black House edition
TELEVISON. Z-Nation (it ran on fumes, but I will miss it), Mindhunter,
THE BAD: TELEVISION: The Haunting of Hill House – Godawful doesn't describe it. The ending was a disgrace. Another Life – Horribly written. I like Space Operas, but this I gave up after episode 3. You know when we made fun of series like Star Gate? Compared to this nonsense it was on the level of Iain M. Banks. Nightflyers – Another DOA. Gave up after episode 2. Dr.Who: Chibnall should have stuck to crime shows. Dull with a capital D and thoroughly disapppointing. Titans: Grim'n gritty as a self-parody. Unintentionally, I fear. This I disliked so much that I gave up after episode 1. A new record.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 7, 2020 2:27:03 GMT
To my dismay I discovered that I didn't buy one new horror novel. The last one was Hutson's Chase in 18, which I still haven't read. I bought a few anthologies, but mostly I read or re-read 30 to 40 years old novels or anthologies, either for the purpose of reviews or because I had the book in question collecting dust for years on the shelves. Somewhat to my surprise, I've found myself traveling in the opposite direction. After spending the better part of the past two decades reading pre-2000 fiction, I've been reading more novels and short fiction published in the 2010s. Tonight I'm going to start My Best Friend's Exorcism, a 2016 retro-horror novel by Grady "Paperbacks from Hell" Hendrix.
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Post by jamesdoig on Jan 7, 2020 3:31:51 GMT
I'm sure I've forgotten stuff, but here are a few:
HORROR NOVELS: Andrew Hurley, The Loney; John Connolly, A Book of Bones
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS: Ron Weighell, The White Road; Count Stenbock, Of Kings and Things
NON-FICTION: Marcus Hearn, Art of Hammer; Ronald Borst, Graven Images, Art of Denis McLoughlin
TV: Dublin Murders, Killing Eve, Chernobyl
FILMS: Hole in the Ground, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Banana Splits Movie
MAGS: Paperback Fanatic, Pulp Horror, Ghosts & Scholars
COMICS: Basketful of Heads, Dollhouse
And got to see S.T. Joshi and John Connolly in Canberra.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 7, 2020 12:23:22 GMT
Anthologies: NewDave Brzeski (ed.) - Shadmocks and Shivers: New tales inspired by the stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes Paul Finch (ed.) - Terror Tales of Northwest England Vault Advent Calendar Anthologies: oldPeter Haining - Poltergeist Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz & Martin H. Greenberg [eds.] - 100 Tiny Tales of Terror Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz & Martin H. Greenberg [eds.] - 100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment Norman Partridge & Martin H. Greenberg - It Came From The Drive-in Dennis Pepper - Young Oxford Book of Ghost Stories Dennis Pepper - New Young Oxford Book of Ghost Stories Mary Danby & Christine Bernard - Armada Ghost Books CollectionR. Chetwynd-Hayes - Tales From Beyond NovelsBob Randall - The Fan Bob Randall - The Calling Honourable dishonourable mentionsJodi Miller - Save The Last Dance For Me Jodi Miller - Phantom of the Soap Opera Guy N. Smith - Return of the Werewolf Klaus Vogel - Virgin Witch Robert E. Lory - The Hand of Dracula Dan Ross - Fogbound Donald F. Glut - Bugged! William Harrington - Columbo: The Helter Skelter Murders Kenneth Rayner Johnson - The Homunculus Gloriously terrible!Paul W. Fairman - The Partridge Family #4: The Ghost of Graveyard Hill Vern Hansen - Claws of the Night Non-fictionS.M. Guariento - Light into Ink. Francis Hill - A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of The Salem Witch Trials Peter Haining - The Witchcraft Papers Julian Symons - Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: A History Andrew Nickolds & Stan Hey [eds.] - The Foul Book of Football No. 1 Mags new & old: All things Paperback Fanatic, Pulp Horror, Sleazy Reader & Co. Ghosts & Scholars, Worlds of Strangeness #3, Paperback Pulp & Comic Collector, and several issues of Foul! from 1973-5 Places: Comix, Books, Posters etc, Westbourne. Royal National Hotel (when there's a paperback & pulp fair in progress). Llanidloes, Llangurig, Rhayader, and Nant Glas. Champion Hill Stadium. 'Books' 125 Rye Ln, Peckham. Weald Lane & environs, Harrow Weald. Obsession with public benches, haunted or otherwise, still going strong. RIP: Charles Black, Hugh Lamb, Mark Hollis, Tom Adams, Mishi Morath.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Jan 7, 2020 15:10:51 GMT
An intriguing list, Dem. Just one small addition to it if I may:-
RIP - Neil Innes
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Post by dem bones on Jan 7, 2020 19:22:22 GMT
An intriguing list, Dem. Just one small addition to it if I may:- RIP - Neil Innes David Farrant should be among the RIP's, too. The Phantasmagoria R. Chetwynd-Hayes Special edition belongs among the personal favourite magazines. And Streatham Rovers FC are the team of this and every other century. Dynamo Catford, on the other hand, are scum and a disgrace to the #FootballFamily. #UpTheGreyhounds. #NeverStopNotGivingUp #AubergineArmy
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Post by cromagnonman on Jan 8, 2020 13:41:59 GMT
Surely no surprise to anyone here who knows me that I read - and more especially watched - almost nothing new this past year. The exceptions being Avengers: Endgame which was alright but not something I'd ever allocate another three hours of my life to seeing again. And the first few issues of Conan's return to Marvel Comics which were utter excrement. From which point on - so far as I can tell - they've got worse.
The tv might as well have an exclusion zone around it patrolled by orcs for all the interest I take in it. I simply cannot abide BBC drama with its infernal sociological and political agendas. And period dramas are worst of all being driven by a sneering supercilious contempt for the non diverse non inclusive source material and the male centric society that produced it.
So old books as always were the order of the day and the best book by far was William Mulvihill's obscure 1960 novel THE MANTRACKERS. This is an absolutely riveting story of the duel between two hunters in colonial Africa in the run up to the First World War. An absolute page turner full of fascinating native bushcraft. A book to put the average BBC snowflake into political anaphylaxis. And probably not for those with delicate conservation credentials either as the scale of animal slaughter is truly appalling. But an absolute classic of its kind.
Also highly recommended is Don Tracy's 1963 slice of small town life THE HATED ONE about an alcoholic lawyer returning to Florida who, in an act of spotaneity, ends up defending a black girl accused of murdering a white man. A gripping account of small town politics and an indictment of the period racism and misogyny such often inculcated.
And finally, Alan White's THE LONG DAY'S DYING about a compromised commando mission in occupied France shortly after D-Day. More of a psychological war novel than an all guns blazing one but not without moments of excrutiating tension as three men try to negotiate the booby traps planted by their own side. A tale given extra authenticity by the fact that White himself was a veteran of more than a dozen such behind-the-lines missions.
Read a number of other good novels too but those were the stand out ones.
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Post by David A. Riley on Jan 8, 2020 14:13:32 GMT
Surely no surprise to anyone here who knows me that I read - and more especially watched - almost nothing new this past year. The exceptions being Avengers: Endgame which was alright but not something I'd ever allocate another three hours of my life to seeing again. And the first few issues of Conan's return to Marvel Comics which were utter excrement. From which point on - so far as I can tell - they've got worse. The tv might as well have an exclusion zone around it patrolled by orcs for all the interest I take in it. I simply cannot abide BBC drama with its infernal sociological and political agendas. And period dramas are worst of all being driven by a sneering supercilious contempt for the non diverse non inclusive source material and the male centric society that produced it. I am totally with you there, The Avengers: Endgame - a lot to do about nothing. Don't they realise that too many superheroes just make for utter boredom? Not seen the Conan comics, though I have a big run of the originals which were superb, though I wasn't much struck by the later artwork, which looked crude and pretty poor. The BBC is a constant source of disappointment. I am totally with those who want to end the licence fee now.
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